Feeding device for pronged fasteners



Dec. 23, 1930.

FEEDING DEVICE FOR PRONGED FASTENERS T. PUCAR 5,

5 sheets sheet 1 Filed-May 18, 1929 v All!" Dec. 23, 1930.

T. PucAR FEEDING DEVICE'FQR PRONGED FASTENERS Filed May 18 lsazs 5Sheets-Sheet 2 Swuentoz:

Dec. 23, 1930. T. PUCAR ,7 V

FEEDING DEVICE FOR PRONGED FASTENERS Filed May 18, 1929 s Sheets-Sheet sPatented Dec. 23, 1930 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE THEODORE PUGAR, FBROOKLYN, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR TO EDWIN B. STIMPSON COMPANY, OF BROOKLYN,NEW YORK, A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK FEEDING DEVICE FOR PRONGED FASTENERSApplication filed May 18,

This invention relates to machines for driving double-pronged fasteners,such as staples, and provides certain novel features of construction andoperation ofsuch machines.

In stapling machines heretofore known the driving plunger has beenmounted on a U shaped head, and the staples have been fed so that theyarrive at the driving pocket in a position at right angles to theU-shaped head. Such an arrangement is satisfactory for many types ofwork, but when it is desired to set the staples (for example) in a longpole transversely to the axis of the pole, it is necessary to feed thepole in a direction parallel to the U-shaped head and the free spaceprovided by the head is often insufficient to permit the requiredfeeding movement.

A primary object of the present invention is to provide a machine inwhich the'staples are fed in such a way that they arrive at the drivingpocket in a position parallel to the U-shaped head. With thisarrangement a pole or similar long article can be fed at right angles tothe U-shaped head, and staples can easily be inserted transversely tothe axis of the pole at any point along its length.

The present mechanism is generally similar to that disclosed in mypending application Serial No. 355,238 filed April 15, 1929, whichprovides for the proper turning of staples having flat, substantiallydiamondshaped heads; a particular object of the present invention is toprovide turning mechanism which operates in a generally similar mannerbut is modified for the proper handling of differently shaped staplesand especially staples having round heads.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent asthe description proceeds.

iVhile a preferred form of the invention has been disclosed for purposesof illustration, it should be understood that various changes may bemade in the structure and arrangement of parts without departing fromthe spirit and scope of the invention as hereinafter set forth andclaimed.

in the drawings:

1929. Serial No. 364,036.

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of a machine embodying the invention.

Fig. 2 is an enlarged detail of part of the operating mechanism.

Fig. 3 is an enlarged detail showing the mechanism for feeding therivets to the plunger.

. Fig. 4 is a view of the cut-off slide and adjacent parts from theposition indicated by the arrow 4, Fig. 3.

Fig. 5 is a similar View, showing the parts in another position.

Fig. 6 is a similar view showing the parts in still another position. 7

, Fig. 7 is a perspective view of the block attached to the lower end ofthe feed arm, the block being shown in inverted position.

Fig. 8 is a perspective view of the nosepiece.

Fig. 9 is a perspective view of the cut-off slide.

Referring to the drawings more particularly, the numeral 10 indicatesthe pedestal of the machine, which supports a U-shaped head 11. Adriving plunger 12 is mounted on the head for vertical reciprocation andis operated from the pedal 13 by suitable lever mechanism.

The staples are placed in the hopper 14 and are fed by the rotatabledrum 15 to the guideway 16, from which the cut-off slide permits them todrop one at a time to the driving position under the driving plunger.Suitable connections are provided to operate the drum 15 and cut-offslide 20 at properly timed intervals in the sequence of o aerations ofthe machine.

Arm is pivoted at 41 and, when pedal 13 is depressed, this arm swings ina clockwise direction (Fig. 2). This movement of arm 40 effects theoperation of several parts, viz.: driver 12 is depressed through theaction of connecting link 42; pawl 43 is advanced on ratchet wheel 44;;and slide 20 is moved to the right, viewed as in Fig. 2 the left view-edas in Figs. 46). The operation of slide 20 is through rocker arm 45,rocker arm 46, and spring connecting menr ber 47. When pedal 13 isreleased it is moved upwardly by spring 48 (Fig. 1), and arm (to a 4:0swings in a counter-clockwise direction (Fig. 2). This movement restoresdriver 12 to its uppermost position, returns slide 20 to its left-handposition (Fig. 2), and causes pawl 43 to rotate ratchet wheel a l anddrum 15. Drum 15 operates in a manner well known in the art to arrangethe staples deposited in hopper lt and deliver them in regular order toguideway 16.

As the staples leave the drum 15 they pass down the guideway with theirheads retained in the guideway and the long axis of the staples parallelto the guideway. and the present invention relates particularly to meansfor turning the staples so that they arrive in driving position at rightangles to the guideway, or parallel to the U-shaped head of the machine.This turning of the staples is accomplished by the co-operation of thecut-oil slide and the nose-piece of the guideway in a manner that willnow be described.

At the lower end of the guideway a block 18, shown in perspective inFig. 7, is attached to the feed arm of the machine. This block 18 isformed on its under side with a channel 19 in which the cut-oil slide 20is slidingly mounted. Plates 21 and 22 are attached to the under side ofblock 18 and assist in keeping the cut-oft slide in position, while thespaced-apart, undercut edges of these plates form a continuation 16a ofthe guideway 16 and guide the staples to the cut-oft slide.

Below the cutoff slide the nose-piece 23 is attached to the lower sideof the block 18. This nose-piece as shown in Fig. 8 is provided withdeep slots 2 l and 25 which define between them a slide or rib 26. Oneof the slots, 25, is preferably wider than the other to permit propermovement of one of the staple prongs into the slot, and the upper end ofthe slide or rib is rounded off at one side, as at 27, forming a point,with the rounded surface leading into slot 24:. The rib is cut down sothat its upper surface is spaced below the upper surface of theremainder of the nose-piece. These parts are so arranged that when thenosepiece is properly secured in its place the point 27 is alined withone side of the guideway 16 and the rib 26 is spaced from plate 18 asufficient distance to permit the head of the staple to ride over therib while the prongs of the staple extend into the slots 24: and 25.

The cut-oil slide 20 is provided with lingers 28 and 29 which travelover the outside of plates 21 and 22 and operate on the prongs ot thestaples, and the slide also caries a lug or block 20a, Fig. 9, having aflange portion 20?), Fig. t, which travels below a lower end portion ofplate 22 and has a beveled end 30 which in one position underlies theplane of the rivet heads at the bottom of the guide channel 16%. Theblock 20a also has a flange 20c extending at a right angle to theportion 206 and terminating in an end or too 20d. The channel 2a innose-piece 23 has at one side at its upper end a notch or ree with lowershoulder 24a to cooperate with the staple prong.

The staples to be handled the present mechanism have round heads 100 andprongs 101, and lie in the main guide channel 16 in a column. with thepron s aligned with the channel axis and ready to descend by gravitythrough the channel 16a in olock 18 which is a continuation of the mainchannel 16.

its the cut-oil slide 20 reciprocates it permits the staples to pass oneat a time from the lower end of the guide channel 16a, and at the sametime rotates them through an a I i of so that they can ride down the slle or rib 26 to the driving position, in which position they are atright angles to the guideway 16. The details of this turning opcrationwill be clear from an inspection ot' Figs. 3 to 6 inclusive.

When the driving plunger 12 is in depressed position the cut-oil slideis in the extreme left-hand position as shown in Fig. e 4: with thefinger 29 extending between the prongs ot a staple and retaining themaple in a preliminary position. The beveled face 30 on block 20a alsolies under the head of the lower rivet and tends to support it. As thecut-off slide moves to the right (toward rib 26. By the angular actionof the rounded face 27 (asslsted by the ac 'on of 4 in lower end orpoint 0; th linger 28) the staple 1 caused to rotate on its own s andthe l prong lodges in the recess or upon the she nder 24a near the topof channel 24, with the upper prong located near the point at the upperend of rib 26 (Fig. it the up; prong does not of its/ch drop into s otupon return movement oi? the cut-oil slide. 1 the direction indicated inFig. (5, the end 20a. of flange 200 engages the upper moves itdefinitely over channel in a l dislodges the lower prong from the reces24/1; and the staple then drops by gravity thro the channels in thenose-piece 23 same time the end of finger enttween the prongs of thenext rivet 1': column, and beveled face 30 also runs on the head of thatrivet tending to e whole stack of rivets slightly and lower one properlyfor the next T After the staple leaves the sli onto the movable supporti under the head of the staple ant. .ll'llllllu in a vertical positionduring the i" of the driving operation. i the drivi a; plunger descendsit engages the staple, re-

moves it from the support 31 and drives it through the split holdingpocket32 and into the work. 7

The advantages of this new machine become apparent when (for example)performing such worl: as attaching branches to the trunk of anartificial Christmas tree In this case the trunk is a lon pole and thestaples must be set transversely of the trunk.-

With the present machine the trunk 34 can be fed parallel to theguideway for the staples, which means that the trunk is fed transverselyto the Ushaped head and is therefore entirely free from any limitationsof movement due to contact with parts of the machine.

The machine can be used for setting doublepronged fasteners, andespecially doublepronged staples with round heads such as shown anddescribed, the fasteners being fed down the main guideway with thefasteners so positioned that a line passing through both prongs of afastener is parallel to the guideway. The operating mechanism turns thefastener through 90 to a position in which the line passing through bothprongs of the fastener is transverse to the guideway.

I claim:

1. Mechanism for feeding and turning twopronged staples of characterdescribed, comprising a guide in which the staples descend by gravitywith their heads in alignment and their prongs aligned with the guideaxis, a feed slide moving perpendicularly to the guide, a finger thereonadapted to enter between staple prongs, another linger on the slideadapted to operate on a lower staple prong, and member on the adapted tohave supporting contact under a staple head.

2. Mechanism for feeding and turning twopronged staples of characterdescribed, coirprising a guide in which the staples descend by gravitywith their heads in alignment and their rongs aligned with the guideaxis, a feed slide moving perpendicularly to the guide, a finger thereonadapted to enter between staple prongs, another finger on the slideadapted to operate on a lower staple prong, a member on the slideadapted to have supporting contact under a staple head, and anothermember on the slide adapted to cooperate in its return motion with anupper portion of the staple.

3. Mechanism for feeding and turning twopronged staples of characterdescribed, coinprisin a guide in which the staples descend by gravitywith their heads in alignment and their prongs aligned with the guideaxis, feed slide moving perpendicularly to the guide, a finger thereonadapted to enter be tween staple prongs, another finger on the slideadapted to operate on a lower staple prong, a member on the slideadapted to have supportin contact under a staple head, and guide meansbelow the feed slide including rib and channels at opposite sidesthereof through which staple prongs may slide in a position straddlingthe rib and aligned at a right angle to their position before turning.

l. Mechanism for feeding and turning twopronged staples of characterdescribed, comprising a guide in which the staples descend by gravitywith their heads in alignment and their prongs flll 'lil with tie guideaxis, a feed slide moving perpendicularly to the guide, a finger thereonadapted to enter between staple prongs, another finger on the slideadapted to operate on a lower staple prong, a member on the slideadapted to have supporting contact under a staple head, and

guide means below the feed slide including a rib and channels atopposite sides thereof through which staple prongs may slide in aposition straddling the rib and aligned at a right angle to theirposition before turning,

said rib raving pointed upper end portion approximately aligned with oneside of the guide first mentioned.

5. Mechanism for feeding and turning twopronged staples of characterdescribed, comprising a guide in which the staples descend by gravitywith their heads in alignment and their prongs aligned with the guideaxis, a feed slide moving perpendicularly to the guide, a finger thereonadapted to enter be tween the prongs of each of the staples, anotherfinger on the slide adapted to operate on a lower staple prong, a memberon the slide adapted to have supporting contact under a staple head, andguide means below the feed slide including a rib and channels at Vopposite sides thereof through which staple prongs may slide in aposition straddling the rib and aligned at a right angle to theirposition before turning, one of the channels in said lower guide meanshaving at its upper end a recess to receive a lower staple prong.

6. Mechanism for feeding and turnin twopronged staples of characterdescribed, comprising a guide in which the staples descend by gravitywiththeir heads in alignment and their prongs aligned with the guideaxis. a feed slide moving perpendicularly to the guide, a finger thereonadapted to enter between staple prongs, another finger on the slideadapted to operate on a lower staple prong, and an angular supportingmember on the slide adapted to have supporting contact under a staolehead.

7. Mechanism for feeding and turning twopronged staples of characterdescribed, com- 7 prising a guide in which the staples descend bygravity with their heads in alignment and their prongs aligned with theguide axis, a feed slide moving perpendicularly to the guide, a fingerthereon adapted to enter between staple prongs, another finger on theslide adapted to operate on a lower staple prong, an angular supportingmember on the slide adapted to have supporting contact under a staplehead, and another member on the slide adapted to cooperate in its returnmotion with an upper portion of a staple.

8. Mechanism for feeding and turning twopronged staples of characterdescribed, comprising a guide in which the staples descend by gravitywith their heads in alignment and their prongs aligned with the guideaxis, a feed slide moving perpendicularly to the guide, a finger thereonadapted to enter between staple prongs, another finger on the slideadapted to operate on a lower staple prong, an angular supporting memberon the slide adapted to have supporting contact under a staple head,another member on the slide adapted to cooperate in its return motionwith an upper portion of a staple, and guide means below the feed slideincluding a rib and channels at opposite sides thereof through whichstaple prongs may slide in a position straddling the rib and aligned ata right angle to their position before turning.

9. Mechanism for feeding and turning twopronged staples of characterdescribed, comprising a guide in which the staples descend by gravitywith their heads in alignment and their prongs aligned with the guideaxis, a feed slide moving perpendicularly to the guide, a finger thereonadapted to enter between staple prongs, another finger on the slideadapted to operate on a lower staple prong, an angular supporting memberon the slide adapted to have supporting contact under a staple head,another member on the slide adapted to cooperate in its return motionwith an upp'er portion of a staple, and guide means below the feed slideincluding a rib and channels at opposite sides thereof through which theprongs of each of the staples may slide in a position straddling the riband aligned at a right angle to their position before turning, said ribhaving a pointed upper end portion approximately aligned with one sideof the guide first mentioned.

10. Mechanism for feeding and turning two-pronged staples of characterdescribed, comprising a guide in which the staples descend by gravitywith their heads in alignment and their prongs aligned with the guideaxis, a feed slide moving perpendicularly to the guide, a finger thereonadapted to enter between staple prongs, another finger on the slideadapted to operate on a lower staple prong, an angular supporting memberon the slide adapted to have supporting contact under a staple head,another member on the slide adapted to cooperate in its return motionwith an upper portion of a staple, and guide means below the feed slideincluding a rib and channels at opposite sides thereof through whichstaple prongs may slide in a position straddling the rib and aligned ata right angle to their position before turning and said rib having apointed upper end portion approximately aligned with one side of theguide first mentioned, one of the channels in said lower guide meanshaving at its upper end a recess to receive a lower staple pron 11.Staple feeding and turning mechanism of the class described, adapted tofeed singly round-headed staples having opposite prongs, and comprisingan upper guide channel in which the staples move with their prongsaligned with the channel axis, a lower guide channel in which the fedstaple moves with its prongs aligned on an axis at a right angle to thechannel, and intermediate the guide channels a reciprocatory feed slidehaving means to feed the staples one at a time to the lower channel andat the same time turn them to the position for feeding through the lowerchannel, said means including a surface which in one position of theslide engages one of the staple prongs to initiate the turning movementand another surface which thereafter engages the other staple prong tocomplete the turning movemenr.

l2. Staple feeding and turning mechan sm of the class described, adaptedto feed singly rmlnd-headed staples having opposite prongs, andcomprising an upper guide channel in which the staples move with theirprongs aligned with the channel axis, a lower guide channel in which thefed staple moves with its prongs aligned on an axis at a right angle tothe channel, and intermediate the guide channels a reciprocatory feedslide having means cooperating with the lower channel formation to feedthe staples one at a time to the lower channel and at the same time turnthem to the position for feeding through the lower channel, said meansincluding a surface which in one position of the slide engages one ofthe staple prongs to initiate the urning movement and another surfacewhich thereafter engages the other staple prong to complete the turningmovement.

13. Staple feeding and turning mechanism of the class described, adaptedto feed singly round-headed staples having opposite prongs, andcon'iprising an upper guide channel in which the staples move with theirprongs aligned with the channel axis, a lower guide channel in which thefed staple moves with its prong aligned on an axis at a right angle tothe channel, and intermediate the guide channels a feed slide havingmeans to feed the staples one at a time to the lower channel and at thesame time turn them to the position for feeding through the lowerchannel, said means comprising opposite fingers to cooperate with upperand lower staple prongs respectively, and an angular lug formationhaving supporting cooperation with a staple head.

14. Staple feeding and turning mechanism of the class described, adapedto feed singly round-headed staples having opposite prongs, andcomprising an upper guide channel in which the staples move with theirprongs aligned with the channel axis, a lower guide channel in which thefed staple moves with its prongs aligned on an axis at a right angle tothe channel, and intermediate the guide channels a feed slide havingmeans to feed the staples one at a time to the lower channel and at thesame time turn them to the position for feeding through the lowerchannel, said means comprising opposite fingers to cooperate with upperand lower staple prongs respectively, an angular lug formation havingsupporting cooperation with a staple head and also a flanged end portionto cooperate with an upper staple prong after the feeding of the staplehas been initiated.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature.

THEODORE PUCAR.

